CBI (indicative)
of the country central investigation agency(CBI) UK based aerospace company Rolls-Royce A case has been registered against the company. In the purchase of Hawk aircraft from 2003-2012 on the company Corruption A case has been registered in the matter. Among those against whom the case has been filed, Tim Jones of Rolls-Royce Plc, two middlemen sudhir chaudharyhis son Bhanu Chowdhary and an unknown Indian official.
Let us tell you that the Central Investigation Agency started the investigation against them on December 15, 2016. The first CBI FIR states that Rolls-Royce and its associate companies, in connivance with unknown officials, defrauded the Government of India.
What is Hawk aircraft deal
According to a report in The Hindu, the CBI suspects that some government employees misused their official position to buy 24 Hawk 115 Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft worth 734.21 million British pounds. Apart from this, he approved Rolls Royal for the license manufacture of 42 additional aircraft of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). In return, these officers took an additional amount of 308.247 million British pounds from the company officials and 7.5 million British pounds for the manufacturer’s license fee. These rupees were in the form of commission, bribe. This was in complete violation of the terms and conditions of the contract.
Many important revelations made in the investigation
Investigation revealed that in the year 2008-10, the accused persons had entered into a separate agreement with HAL BAE Systems (Operations) Limited, a BAES group entity. He appealed for license to manufacture 57 additional Hawk aircraft by HAL at a cost of Rs 9502 crore. During a survey in 2006-07, the Income Tax Department seized important documents related to suspicious transactions with middlemen from the premises of Rolls Royal India Limited. However, the accused persons acted to destroy the evidence. The company said in a statement that it is assisting the Indian authorities in the investigation.
read this also- Praveen Sood became CBI director, know how the head of the country’s largest investigative agency is elected
How did the scam come to light?
In 2012, several media reports surfaced alleging corruption in the operations of Rolls-Royce. It was then investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), London. Rolls-Royce then issued a statement regarding its corrupt payments related to transactions with countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, China, Malaysia and India. An agreement was then reached between Rolls-Royce and SFO. On that settlement, the Crown Court delivered a judgment on July 17, 2017, which revealed the role of middlemen in the defense business in India between 2005 and 2009.
In addition, it has been alleged that Sudhir Chaudhary’s role is also questionable in relation to defense deals with Russia for the purchase of MiG fighter aircraft. 100 million British pounds were transferred by Russian arms companies to the Swiss bank account number 120467 of his associated company Portsmouth. It has been said in the FIR that these funds were put in firms named after the Chaudhary family.
